Ban Righ Centre

calendar of events

September to December 2007

Noon Hour

SPEAKERS PROGRAM

An opportunity to continue your education at your own pace, in an intimate, comfortable setting with no exams! From the visual and other arts, science and technology, the environment and social justice, to the more personal, obscure and indescribable, we try to cover it all. Everyone is welcome and home-made soup is available for a donation. Held at 32 Bader Lane at noon.

Monday, September 17
Realities of Persons with Disabilities in a Kenyan Refugee Camp
Dr. Joy Wee: M.D.
Since 1991, refugees have been streaming from Somalia into surrounding countries. Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya is near the Somali border. Dr. Joy Wee conducted a case study of Dadaab Refugee Camp in July 2006. She will share the stark realities of persons with disabilities in the refugee camp.
Wednesday, September 26
On Discovery in Astronomy
Judith Irwin: Dept. of Physics, Engineering Physics, & Astronomy
From Galileo to the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomical discoveries have relied heavily on technological advances combined with scientific insight. This talk will discuss the process of discovery in astronomy and what it requires, showing a progression from classical optical astronomy to modern unconventional instrumentation that can detect more exotic phenomena. Some of the current pressing issues in astronomy will also be presented.
Friday, October 5
Poetry for People Who Thought They Didn't Like Poetry
Linda Stitt: Poet
This delightfully witty and very accessible Toronto poet will visit the Ban Righ Centre to share some of her life and well-loved poetry. Her work can be previewed at http://www.geocities.com/passionate_intensity2002/
Wednesday October 24
Ban Righ Writer's Group
The Ban Righ Writer's Group will read from their published and unpublished works. This group originated in and has followed in the tradition of a group that met at Bronwen Wallace's home in the 1980s.

Thursday October 25
Flying by the Seat of my Size 16s
Margaret McIntyre: Artist
After two career changes, Marg McIntyre re-discovered her passion for the visual arts 11 years ago and is on a wonderful new journey once again. Her humorous approach to life and her shoot from the hip attitude is her trademark.
Tuesday November 6
Education and Eros
Jack Sinnot
"Perhaps the most difficult task we face daily," writes poet Anne Carson, "is that of touching one another. The difficulty presented is that of violating a fixed boundary, transgressing a closed category where one does not belong." Please join Jack as he explores how this difficulty plays itself out in the classroom and how an understanding of knowing, teaching, and learning as erotic acts can serve to overcome it.
Monday November 12
Mapping Vulnerability, Picturing Place
Cheryl Sutherland: M.A. Candidate~Geography
Women who have (im)migrated to the Kingston and Peterborough area were participants in a project that explored women's experiences of 'place' after migration. Through the use of interviews, focus groups, and photography, the participants and I mapped the places and spaces of vulnerability in the Kingston area (and in Canada). For women who uproot and attempt to transplant themselves into other 'places', vulnerability can consist of different things depending on the life context and experiences of individual women. My talk will discuss some of the findings of this project and the ways in which women attempt to negotiate safety in their new lives.
Wednesday, November 14
Into the Andes: The search for high-altitude Seedsnipes and their Antarctic ancestors
Gabriela Ibarguchi: Ph.D. Candidate. M.Sc., B.Sc., Dept. of Biology
The Seedsnipes are an enigmatic group of Andean shorebirds consisting of four species adapted to cold, windy, high-altitude habitats. Their closest relative is the plains-wanderer, another unusual shorebird from Australia. The adaptations to extreme environments and this link to their Australian relative has led me to believe that Seedsnipes may have originated in the mountains of Antarctica before diversifying in the Andes of southern South America. Since 2001 I have been documenting the ecology and natural history of Seedsnipes, as they remain poorly studied. Using population genetic tools and investigating species relationships, I have been re-tracing the Seedsnipe lineage to its putative roots in the Transantarctic Mountain

Thursday November 22
The Three Little Pigs were Right the First Time; Straw Bale Homes
John Wise: President of the Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition/and Organic Farmer
Straw bale construction uses a natural, non toxic material, straw, as insulation and structural support for houses. The result is a super insulated building that uses much less energy to heat or cool than conventional buildings.
Wednesday November 28
Off the Wall and Into the Street
Sheina Barnes: Artist
Join artist and art conservator, Sheina Barnes, as she describes her adventures as an artist on the streets of Hamilton. AS president and First Lady of The Postcard Collective, she connects directly to her audience through postcards, flyers and posters.